Citizenship

Before the interview begins, the USCIS officer will have you take an oath. This step is important as it signifies that you promise to tell the truth regarding the answers you will give during the interview. When being placed under oath, the USCIS officer will ask:

• Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?

Your answer to this question will be “yes” or “I do.”  Either one is fine. The USCIS officer may follow up with another question such as:

• Do you understand what an oath is?

An oath is a promise regarding one’s future actions or behavior. The legal phrase is that you are now under “penalty of perjury,” meaning it will be considered a crime to be dishonest from that point forward. Again, you can just say, “yes, it means I promise to tell the truth.”

PERSONAL INFORMATION

It is important to note that the USCIS officer will draw questions for your naturalization interview directly from your Application for Naturalization (Form N-400). It is helpful to carefully review your N-400 application before the interview to keep your answers consistent.

Should you answer any questions differently from what you filled out on your N-400 application, you must make sure you can explain and support your new answer.

The USCIS officer is also testing your ability to speak English during this interview portion. Sample questions may include:

• What is your name?
• When were you born?
• How tall are you?
• How many children do you have?
• Where do you currently live?
• What is your marital status?
• Where do you work?

They might also ask questions about any recent travel outside of the United States, about participation in local organizations, or about any legal issues you may have. Answers to these personal questions should be answered truthfully, as you are under oath, and many of the questions can be easily verified.

Once again, it is important to keep in mind that the USCIS officer is making sure that the information you provide is consistent with what you put on your application for naturalization. The office wants to ensure everything is up-to-date, such as a new job you may have started after applying or a new baby in the family. At this time, you should let them know if anything has changed so that they can see you are willing to be transparent and open with them.

ETHICS AND CHARACTER       

The USCIS officer will run you through a series of questions to determine if you have the moral character to become a U.S. citizen. These questions are typically drawn from your N-400 form and should be answered the same as your application. Examples of these questions are:

• Have you ever claimed to be a U.S. citizen?
• Do you understand, and are you willing to take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States?
• Will you obey the laws of the United States?
• Do you support the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. government?

Other than answering these questions honestly, as in the case of the first example question, it would be best if you generally were answering these questions in the affirmative: (“Yes”/ “I do”/ “Yes, I will”).

This shows that you are a decent and upstanding person who will be a good addition to the United States.

UNDERSTANDING OF U.S. HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT

The citizenship examination has two parts: an oral (verbal) civics and English proficiency test and a written portion.

The civics portion of the naturalization process is probably the most nerve-wracking. During this step in the process, you will be asked to verbally answer questions about the United States government and questions surrounding the history of the United States.

The USCIS officer will ask ten (10) questions, of which you must get six (6) correct. They will stop asking the questions once you have answered six correctly.

Here, we have provided questions and answers to some of the most common questions asked during the civics portion of the naturalization interview.

Q:  What are the two major political parties in the United States?

A:  Democrat and Republican

Q:  What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called?

A:  The Bill of Rights

Q:  What is the “rule of law”?

A:  Everyone must follow the law. Leaders must obey the law. Government must obey the law. No one is above the law.

Q:  Who was the first President of the United States?

A:  George Washington

Q:  When is American Independence Day?

A:  July 4^th

Q:  How many U.S. senators are there?

A:  One-hundred (100)

Q:  How many amendments does the Constitution have?

A:  Twenty-seven (27)

Q:  What did the Declaration of Independence do?

A:  Declared our independence (from Great Britain)

Q:  What is one reason colonists came to America?

A:  Possible answers: freedom, political liberty, religious freedom, economic opportunity, practice their religion, escape persecution

Q:  Name one problem that led to the Civil War.

A:  Possible answers: slavery, economic reasons, states’ rights

Q:  How old do citizens have to be to vote for a President?

A:  Eighteen (18) and older

Q:  What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?

A:  Two possible answers: serve on a jury, vote in a federal election

ENGLISH COMPREHENSION

You will also be asked to read and write a series of English sentences that the USCIS officer will give you. There will be six (6) sentences in total: three (3) will be written, and you will need to read them out loud, and three (3) will be dictated (read out loud) to you by the USCIS officer, and you will write down what you hear.

Feel free to ask them to repeat the sentence or speak more slowly if needed. Take your time with this, and be sure to write clearly. The good news is, you only need to get one (1) sentence correct in each category, meaning two (2) total, to pass this part of the test. To say this another way, you get three chances to get one oral sentence correct and three chances to get one written sentence correct.